A WREXHAM politician is calling on the local authority to check that supermarkets in the county are complying with the latest coronavirus guidance.

Lesley Griffiths, Member of the Senedd for Wrexham as well as being the Minister for Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs, has written to the council to make sure customers and staff are being kept safe.

She says she has received a number of complaints from constituents about the lack of social distancing and other measures in the county's supermarkets.

She called on Wrexham Council Leader Mark Pritchard to ensure officers were visiting shops and taken action where necessary.

The Leader:

Lesley Griffiths MS

Ms Griffiths said: "I continue to receive correspondence from constituents who feel some local supermarkets have retreated too quickly from some of the safeguards they had put in place earlier in the pandemic.

"While not all are at fault, supermarkets must comply with the Welsh Government guidance and help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"Local authorities have new enforcement powers to take reasonable action against premises which aren’t complying with the regulations. I have contacted the Leader of Wrexham Council to question whether environmental health officers are visiting supermarkets to observe their procedures.

"The safety of their customers should be their priority."

On Monday new measures came into force in Wales, as well as other parts of the country.

The new restrictions in Wales make the wearing of face coverings mandatory in public indoor spaces and banning more than six people from an extended household from meeting inside.

Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales welcomes the new measures which came into force yesterday, Monday 14 September from Welsh Government to prevent further rises in positive coronavirus cases.

"These include the mandatory wearing of face coverings by people over 11 in public places, like shops, and that only six people from an extended household can meet indoors."

The concerns come after, Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething warned a second coronavirus lockdown could be enforced in Wales within weeks if people do not change their behaviour.

Vaughan Gething warned the pattern of increasing cases was “similar to the situation we faced in early February” and said action had to be taken to prevent significant harm or another full lockdown.

He said: “In early February, we faced a position where we didn’t have the range of knowledge we have now, but we went into a national lockdown in essentially the third week of March,” Mr Gething said.

“So there’s a period of weeks for us to resolve some of the challenges we have, which is why we appeal to people to reconsider the choices we’re making, who we’re seeing, how many people we’re seeing, because otherwise we may need to make more local lockdown choices or potentially a national lockdown with all the interruption that causes."

He added: “If there isn’t a change in behaviour, we could well be not just seven weeks away from a national lockdown, it could potentially be much quicker."

In a response to a constituent on social media, Ms Griffiths said: "I am constantly reminding everyone to social distance and maintain good hygiene.

"Sometimes wearing a face covering means people don’t maintain social distancing in that situation.

"People do however have to take personal responsibility during this global pandemic."